Today I am an archeologist

We’ve been in 2 weeks and have had a few really lucky period features finds.  First, the hall floor…

We always suspected there may have been a lovely minton tiled floor undereath the hideous blue carpet.  On completion day, once I had run around from top to bottom like an excited toddler, I set straight to tearing up a corner of carpet.  Here’s what I found (excuse the dodgy photography):

Today I returned while things were quiet to remove the carpet gripper rods that had been nail-gunned into the tiles :(.  There wasn’t too much damage, and when the budget allows, we’ll get a proper restoration job.  While I was grubbing around the skirting boards with a chisel I thought I’d explore the lino that someone had laid over the last two feet of hallway.  By explore, I mean take a chisel to it – it was rather exciting and about as far as I’ll get to an Indiana Jones-style archeological dig.  I half expected to find concrete or worse, but can you believe somebody laid linoleum over this beauty?!

It seems the Victorians were into chevrons too.

Coming up, a minging bathtub, a concealed fireplace full of bird poo, and a kitchen cupboard full of mould.  Yum.